A harsh spotlight was shone on TikTok’s Singaporean chief executive Chew Shou Zi in January, when he was grilled relentlessly by United States senators at a congressional hearing on safety for children on social media platforms. Even his nationality was called into question.

The Singaporean will soon find himself in the spotlight again, but this time at fashion’s glitziest event, the Met Gala, on May 6.

Mr Chew will be one of the honorary chairs of the event alongside Loewe’s creative director Jonathan Anderson, announced The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Feb 15.

The Met Gala is considered one of the highlights of New York’s social calendar and is typically graced by the biggest names in the entertainment world. The annual event – which sees hundreds of celebrities strut up the steps of the Met for a night that raises millions of dollars every year for the museum’s Costume Institute – always falls on the first Monday of May.

Joining Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, dubbed the “high priestess of fashion”, as co-chairs for 2024’s red-carpet event is a star-studded crew – actress-singer Jennifer Lopez, actress Zendaya, actor Chris Hemsworth and rapper Bad Bunny.

The 2024 dress code is “The Garden of Time”, which will tie in with the theme of the accompanying exhibition titled Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.

The exhibition will showcase 250 historically significant pieces spanning four centuries, which are the “sleeping beauties” – pieces far too fragile to be worn again.

TikTok is the lead sponsor for the Met Gala 2024 and the exhibition, said the social media platform in November 2023.

The event will also be supported by LVMH-owned fashion label Loewe and Conde Nast, the publisher of Vogue.